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Yunalin Slatebelt
Yunalin Slatebelt was a female dwarf NPC in the Emeron campaign. Background Yunalin was orphaned and found in Hardale by the Church of Moradin. They took her in, raising her as best as possible. Contrary to the tendencies of many of her people Yunalin grew to be quite the outdoorsman, enjoying the fresh air and nature. She made her living hunting in the Whisker Woods and occasionally in the Dwarven Mountains. She met and befriended a young Morda Amburgeor, while drinking in a tavern one night, and he was one of the only humans able to keep up with her in a drinking contest. Impressed Yunalin continued to drink with him when she was in town and the two became good friends. This friendship continued even after Morda was named mayor of Hardale by the baron of Lurinlund. Recent History In the late spring of 1159 Yunalin was on a hunting trip in the Dwarven Mountains and was captured. She was replaced by the Spider Person Xexkotev, who returned to Hardale. A few months later a necromancer named Mingolf the Soulcrusher was reported to be leading an undead army towards the Barony of Lurinlund. Lurinund sent two armies east to battle the undead, first under Sir Valin Taire and the second under Sir Winston Templeton. Both forces were defeated in the First Battle of Undying Rage and the Second Battle of Undying Rage. Worse, most of Hardale's fighting force and conscripts were in the second army. Mayor Morda approached the ambassador from the Thorgain Kingdom, Throt Goldaxe, requesting that he agree mobilize the dwarves of Hardale to fight in case the undead attack the city, even though they are considered citizens of the dwarf kingdom and not the Kingdom of Emeron. The meeting did not go well, Goldaxe stated the attack was Emeron's problem, not Thorgain's and that he would write to Thane King Farim Ironbreaker for guidance, but that he would not commit the dwarves to battle on his own authority. Mayor Morda made the mistake of implying that the dwarves were frightened to fight, causing Goldaxe to become enraged. Both men grew heated, and the meeting ended abruptly. Rumors promptly began in Hardale claiming that the dwarves would abandon the humans (some even theorizing that the dwarves were in league with the undead so they could take over Hardale after the humans were all dead.) For their part the dwarves began to fear that Mayor Morda would conscript them, forcing them to fight the undead even though they were not citizens of Emeron. Tensions were high and since Yunalin was known to sometimes act as a go between to the dwawrves, Xexkotev offered to help Mayor Morda in that capacity again. Naturally, this was all according to the spider person's plans. Unbeknownst to anyone, Xexkotev acting in league with Mingolf the Soulcrusher, and while appearing to act as a go between in good faith, Xexkotev actually delivered false and misleading demands to both sides, making it appear to each man that the other was growing more aggressive and intractable. This had the intended effect of further dividing the populations of Hardale, making it weaker for the eventual battle that was to come. Murder of Mayor Morda On the 12th of Dragon, 1159, After the Second Battle of Undying Rage, Xexkotev murdered Morda Amburgeor in his office in Summerwind Hall right after they mayor had met with Ambassador Throt Goldaxe. Xexkotev severed Morda's head and disposed of it so that he could not be resurrected. The Spider Person then repeated the process with Hardale's captain of the guard, leaving the town leaderless as Mingolf's army was approaching. Xexkotev then waited until word of Morda's death disseminated and publicly accused Ambassador Goldaxe. "Yunalin" rallied the town guard and marched them to the Dwarf Quarter to demand the surrender of Goldaxe. The Ambassador refused to surrender, pointing out that the Dwarf Quarter and the embassy was sovereign territory of the Thorgain Kingdom, and that invading or arresting him would be an act of war. It was into this standoff that the Joined of Vesper entered, having just arrived to Hardale with the remnants of Sir Winston's army. They intervened in the standoff before things could bubble over, and convinced "Yunalin" to pull the town guard back a block or two and allow the Joined to interview the Ambassador. Reluctantly Xexkotev agreed, and pulled the guard back. the creature knew, however, that the Joined of Vesper would likely believe Ambassador Goldaxe that he'd not committed the murder and that the best bet now was to escape, content to have sowed as much discord in the town as possible on the even of Mingolf's attack. Escape Attempt Xexkotev slipped away from the town guard and summoned a mount using nature magic and began riding out of town. Unfortunately for Xexkotev, the Joined of Vesper did wish to question "Yunalin". When they learned she had left the force of guardsmen, Froderik Penderghast sent his familiar, Mordechai, to the skies to search for her. Mordechai sped to Froderick to warn him of what was happening. He immediately ran from the dwarven embassy to procure a horse and give chase. Many of his allies were across town at Summerwind Hall at that moment investigating the murder of Mayor Morda Amburgeor and so had to rush to catch up to him. Froderick chased "Yunalin" down using his magic to boost the speed of his horse enough to catch her. He was soon aided by Zenga who was flying under her magic. The two caught up to Xexkotev and Zenga put her pony to sleep, ending the case in spectacular fashion. The "dwarf" came up fighting though, but Froderik and Zenga were able to use their magic to subdue "Yunalin". "Death" The Joined of Vesper returned the captured "Yunalin" to the Dwarf Quarter, where Edella Montfort had stayed behind an negotiated having the local cleric of Akana, Brother Larad Omanna, use his magic to divine truth from lies and question both Ambassador Goldaxe and "Yunalin." By this point the town guard and a crowd of angry citizens had pressed forward to the embassy again. Larad performed the magic and soon announced that "Yunalin's" denials of having murdered Mayor Morda were lies. The crowd was enraged and rushed forward. Xexkotev attempted to climb the wall to the embassy but. Ronald Cunningham cast a spell that immobilized the Spider Person causing it to plunge to the ground. In spite of the efforts of some of the Joined of Vesper to prevent it, the crowd reached "Yunalin" and killed "her," at which point Xexkotev's corpse returned to it's true form. Rescue In mid Bear of 1159 the Joined of Vesper found the real Yunalin Slatebelt in Horsehead Peak alongside several other individuals who had been kidnapped and replaced by the Spider People. She revealed that she had been kidnapped a few months earlier while on a hunting trip. She was shocked and saddened to hear that her friend Morda Amburgeor was dead and that she was thought to be the murderer and a traitor to Hardale. She returned to Thorgain City with the Joined of Vesper and the other people who had been captured. Abilities Yunalin was a skilled survivalist and capable warrior as well as being able to draw upon a bit of nature magic. She preferred to fight with a battleaxe in one hand and a war hammer in the other. She was knowledgeable about underground environments as well as nature surroundings and was a capable hunter, trapper and tracker. She clearly had other abilities she kept hidden, such as the ability to climb walls like a spider and to change shapes, but the limit, extent and nature of these powers is unknown. Category:Emeron Category:Characters Category:NPCs